The three girls sat on an orange mid-century modern love seat older than their parents. They laughed, read books, giggled and made memories in the children’s section of their library. The personalities of Aliya, Emily and Blake, mixed and formed a unit of joy among the stacks of books.

A few minutes earlier, they were ensconced in the musical teachings of Miss Bri in the Storytime Room, with a dozen more of their pals in the Charles Town Library. The seeds of tempo, pitch and other facets of music were sprinkled over them by Miss Bri as the group swirled, swayed and waved colorful scarves to sweet sounds of Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker.

As the program ended, they flowed from the room, not even realizing that sometime in the future, they could be sitting in an auditorium or concert hall or even on a stage themselves, listening to that same music and remembering fondly their morning at the library.

As it has been mentioned before, the staff of the library often benefits as much from our visitors as they do during their time here. The curious little ones and the invested grownups confirm there is value within this building. Obviously, there is no way to be everything to everyone, but we hope to be something to all of the folks that come through our doors, both at the library and the museum as well.

We are nearing the end of another calendar year, a simple hash mark on the slate that began almost 100 years ago here at 200 East Washington Street. It is with great anticipation that we will soon start another year in which we open the doors for Aliya, Emily, Blake and all the others that make us a part of their lives.

Thank you for your visits, your support and your trust.